


All for Fluffy

by nickxy



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bad Boy Bucky Barnes, Bisexual Peter Parker, Deal, First Date, Gay Bucky Barnes, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Loosely Based on Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, M/M, Nerd Peter Parker, Pre-Slash, fake ids, winterspider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25604317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nickxy/pseuds/nickxy
Summary: Peter and Ned are desperate to see the mysterious and elusive indie band Fluffy perform live in Brooklyn next weekend. Problem is, they need to be 21+ to get into the venue. MJ recommends someone who can hook them up with fake IDs.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker
Comments: 24
Kudos: 163





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> just something I wrote for a warm-up. not beta'd so I'm sorry for any mistakes, I went fast lmao.

“I figured it out.” 

“What? Figured what out?” Peter squeaks out, slightly startled by Ned's epiphany. Ned just rolls his eyes, as if he should know. Sometimes Peter can’t keep up with Ned’s brain. 

“Fluffy. I figured out how we’re gonna go see Fluffy, duh!” 

Ugh, duh! Fluffy, only the most elusive but addictive indie rock band of their time. He and Ned have been nerding out every day about the fact that Fluffy is doing a supposed secret show in Brooklyn next weekend. They poured over the clues before deducing that they’re probably going to be going up at 839 Underground. 

Problem was, you needed to be twenty-one and over to get into the venue. Still, Peter and Ned were determined to see the mythical Fluffy perform. There’s no way they could miss _the_ Fluffy. They would never forgive themselves.   


“How?”  


“ _We_ are going to get ourselves some fake IDs.” Ned said triumphantly. 

“What? How?! Doesn’t that seem kinda… _illegal_? _”_ Peter asks, finishing his sentence in a hushed tone. 

“No, come on, Peter. It’s fine. I’ve been texting with this guy MJ told me about. He said we can meet him at the back bushes after school.” Ned says plainly. As if that wasn’t one of the most terrifying things the two of them could be doing. 

They had no reason to be going to the infamous _back bushes._ It’s a spot that’s _just_ off of school’s campus where all of the ‘bad kids’ usually hung out when they wanted ditch classes. The spot was usually intended for students who were trying to smoke weed, make out, or… get fake IDs, apparently. Neither of them has ever had a reason to go over there. 

“Are you sure we should go over there? Who is this guy?” 

“Peter, it’s fine. We’ll be in and out before we know it. Remember, if we get these IDs we can finally see Fluffy.”   


Ugh. He wanted to see Fluffy so damn bad. 

“Fine, fine. Yes. We need to do it.” Peter sighs. “But seriously, who is this guy we’re meeting with?”   


“His name is Chucky or something. MJ said he’s kinda scary though so maybe we just shouldn’t say too much.” Ned says reassuringly.   


When the finally get to the back bushes, they find a crew of scary-looking seniors. Peter first recognizes one of them as Brock Rumlow. He knows him from an incident freshman year where he threatened to give Peter a black eye and took his lunch money. Peter tries his hardest to push the thought of his mind so that they can just get through this situation as painless as possible. 

Beside him sits Bucky Barnes, who Peter assumes they’re getting the IDs from. He’s got dark circles under his eyes, black combat boots on and he’s flicking a switchblade around his fingers. It makes the whole situation _that_ much more intimidating. 

Turns out Peter actually does know who Bucky is, though. Not well, but they’re familiar. 

Bucky was in his shop class but they didn’t talk that much. He usually just scowled the corner. There was also the time Bucky wordlessly helped Peter from getting his ass kicked from some of the older students at the beginning of the year. They never talked about it beyond a thank you from Peter and a nod from Bucky.   


“You Ned?” Bucky snarls looking Ned up and down. Ned gulps.

“Yes— yes, sir.” Ned says nervously. Bucky chuckles and grabs a duffel bag out from under the bench. 

“And you both need IDs?” Bucky asks, raising an eyebrow and staring directly at Peter with his icy blues. 

“That would be appreciated.” Peter mumbles quietly. Still loud enough for Bucky to hear. 

“Mm, ok.” Bucky nods, grabbing out a toolbox filled with IDs. He begins sorting through an insane amount of IDs. They look to range from old real ones, to brand new fake ones. Peter wonders how the hell Bucky got his hands on them. Bucky eventually snakes two out and holds them up to Ned and Peter, to make sure that they match. “I think these will do.” 

“That's gonna be sixty.” Bucky says, clapping his hands on his legs. 

“Wait, I thought you said in the text that they would probably be twenty a piece?” Ned inquires nervously. 

Bucky shoots Ned a bone-chilling glare that he’s definitely going to feel for the next two weeks. 

“Listen. Yours is twenty. But his…” Bucky says, pointing at Peter with a switchblade. Peter gulps involuntarily for a second. “His is forty. His look is common. I have less that look like him and I have to make a living.” 

Peter can’t help himself from feeling disappointed. Was this Bucky’s way of saying he looked boring? 

“How much money do you have?” Ned says out the side of his mouth to Peter. Peter quickly digs through his pockets for his wallet. After a quick inspection, he realizes he only has four dollars. 

“Not much.” Peter says holding up the crumpled bills and handing them to Ned. Ned quickly attempts to flatten them out.

“Is there any way you can do forty-four?” Ned quivers, holding the bills out in Bucky’s direction. Bucky winces. 

  
“I don’t know about that.” Bucky says, shaking his head. “Maybe we could work out a deal, though.” Bucky then taps his finger to his chin, as if he’s pondering something.  


“Uh.. what kind of deal?” Ned inquires nervously. 

“Make ‘em do your homework for a month, Buck.” Brock chuckles over to him with a smirk on his face. Bucky dismisses him with his hand.   


“I’ll give you yours for twenty.” Bucky says first, giving Ned a point. “And I’ll give Pretty Peter his _if_ he lets me take him on a date.” A smile creeps across Bucky’s face. 

“A what?!” Peter immediately squeaks, instinctively stepping back. And Peter isn’t the only one shocked, either. 

“Yeah. A what?” Brock asks, watching Bucky intently along with the rest of the crew. Bucky rolls his eyes. 

“Shut up.” Bucky says, brushing off any sort of judgment. He could care less. He looks back at Peter and holds up a finger. “One date with me and I’ll give you guys the ID for free.” 

A date?! With Bucky Barnes?! He had barely even said five words to the guy. Why would he want to go on a date with him? I mean, it’s not that Bucky wasn’t ridiculously hot. He was _hot_ and Peter would be lying if he said he hadn’t snuck glances at him in shop class. But _still._

Peter was terrified of the guy!   


“Deal.” Ned says quickly. Peter’s eyes grow to the size of golfballs. 

“What? No, no, no. No deal!” Peter says with a gasp. Frank starts laughing outwardly beside Bucky. 

“There’s gotta be another way.” Peter begs, looking Bucky right in the eyes. The corners of Bucky’s lips curl and it makes a shiver go down Peter’s spine. 

He can’t tell if he’s scared or turned on, honestly. 

“Sorry, dollface.” Bucky says, leaning back. “Date or no ID.”

“Dude. Fluffy.” Ned whispers under his breath. Peter shuts his eyes for a second, trying to focus if only for a minute. 

“I promise I’ll make it worth your while.” Bucky teases, his voice low and smooth. 

He really wanted to see Fluffy. Fluffy would be worth it. He’d be able to talk about this for years. 

“Fine, fine.” Peter declares, sounding a little defeated. “But if you try anything weird I’m going right home.” 

Peter watches as Bucky smiles in a way he’s never seen in his life. He’s very pleased with himself. 

“It’s a deal, then.” Bucky says, shutting his toolbox of ID’s and grabbing the cash Ned is holding out. “And don’t worry I’ll be a perfect gentleman.” Bucky says giving Peter a wink. Peter has no idea how to respond. 

Ned bows because that’s probably what he thinks you do after an illegal transition and then begins to shuffle backward. 

“I’ll text you and we can figure out specifics.” Bucky says cooly. Peter can see Ned is itching to get away and Peter is definitely feeling the same kind of urgency. 

“O-ok.” Peter yelps. “But you don’t have my number…”

Bucky chuckles. 

“I can figure it out.” He says. “You just worry about what you’re gonna wear.” 

“S-sounds good.” Peter can’t help but yelp again.

  
What the hell did he get himself into? 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part 2!!! date time! 
> 
> big thank you to @ironspiderling for doing some editing and housekeeping on this!!

“I still can’t believe this is actually happening,” MJ says with a scoff before letting her body fall onto Peter’s bed, eyes glued to her phone.

“That’s not helping, MJ!” Peter groans with a roll of the eyes.

Peter has spent the last thirty minutes running around his room trying to figure out a way out of his date with Bucky Barnes. He hasn’t been able to come up with anything good, knowing Bucky will just reject any sort of excuse and force him on the date no matter what. Not even a broken leg would stop him.

This is maybe one of the only times Peter has ever seriously considered faking his own death. MJ’s always talking about how it’s actually a lot harder to pull off than the movies make it seem, though.

He shrugs, taking a gander at his closet. As the clock approaches seven PM, Peter is realizing that he needs to figure out what he’s going to wear on this date. He picks up a blue plaid shirt and wonders if it's nice enough.

“Don’t wear that. You wear it too much,” MJ states simply, her attention now split between Peter and her phone. She has a point; this is one of Peter's favorite shirts. “He’s definitely seen you in it. Don’t you have anything fancier?”

“I don’t even know where we’re going,” Peter groans again.

“Wear something else,” MJ assures before going back to scrolling. Peter places the shirt back in the closet with a sigh and begins to rifle through the drawers of his blue dresser.

“What do you think is the maximum amount of time I absolutely have to spend with him before I can come up with some fake emergency… That’s what people do on dates they don’t want go on, right?” Peter asks, having never actually been on a date.

“Depends on how long you think that fake ID is worth,” MJ replies mindlessly, scrolling through Tumblr on her phone now. “His are pretty decent quality though, I would maybe say two hours?”

“ _Two hours_!?” Peter squeaks, jolting his gaze back to MJ so fast that his copper rim glasses almost fly off.

“What the hell do I talk about with Bucky Barnes for two whole hours?” Peter says, pushing the rim of his glasses back up his face before going back to searching the dresser. A navy blue polo with stripe trim catches his eye, and he grabs it.

“I don’t know, your ass?” MJ snarks, throwing Peter a grin.

“Still not helping!” Peter yelps back, holding the polo in front of him for approval.

“Polo is good,” she assures before going back to her phone and chuckling to herself. “Maybe ask him how he became a small business owner.”

Peter rolls his eyes before disappearing behind his closet door, something he usually did for privacy when MJ was over. He quickly slides into the pair of khakis he had already put aside and pulls the navy polo over his head.

“What if he beats me up because the date is bad?” Peter asks, poking out from behind the closet door. He’s feeling a pang of fear in his chest now. He’s seen Bucky beat people up before and definitely didn’t want to be on the other side of it.

“I’m gonna need to you to step back from the proverbial ledge, tiger.” All of her attention is on Peter now. “Seriously, the guy went through so much trouble to ask you out, I don’t think he’s gonna beat you up. Maybe you should just try to have fun.”

“Only you would find this romantic.” Peter shakes his head. He steps out from behind the door. MJ gives him a little whistle when she sees the ensemble together.

“He’s gonna eat you up, Peter,” MJ jokes.

“That's exactly what I’m afraid of,” Peter sighs before peering out the window of he and Aunt May's rickety townhouse.

“Holy shit,” he gasps as he’s met with the sight of Bucky Barnes outside his home on a motorcycle. Was Peter just supposed to get on that thing with him?! No freaking way.

“Damn, now that’s hot shit.” MJ’s at his side now, attention totally taken away from her phone.

Peter had to admit. Bucky did look smoking hot. He had a black leather jacket on. The pair watch the older boy swagger over to the front of the Peter’s house. Wait. Was he planning on coming to the door? Since when does Bucky Barnes have manners?

Peter rushes out his room and the moment he does, the chime of the doorbell rings through the tiny home.

“I’ll get it!” Aunt May yells up and then Peter watches as she’s already opening the front door.

“Hi ma’am,” Bucky says, his voice sounding way more pleasant than Peter had ever heard before. “I’m here to pick up Peter.”

“Oh! Hi. Wow. You’re here… for Peter,” Aunt May says, studying Bucky up and down. Definitely confused as to who he’s supposed to be. Peter really can’t blame her. “Sorry, who are—”

“May! I’m sorry I forgot to mention but this is Bucky,” Peter says, faking a smile so that May won’t get any inkling that he's actually being semi-forced on this date. “We’re kind of going on… _a date_ ,” Peter says under his breath.

"You two are going on a date?” Aunt May is visibly shook, eyes darting between Bucky and Peter. She lands her gaze on Peter, studying his face carefully before addressing him directly. “And you didn’t tell me?”

Peter mouths ‘sorry’ before Aunt May whips her head back to Bucky.

“Peter’s curfew is ten-thirty. PM, not AM. No later than that. I know all the tricks. There will be absolutely no drinking or drugs on this date,” Aunt May says with a stern look on her face. _“_ And _no sex_ for that matter either.”

“May!” Peter yelps, his face turning redder by the second.

_“_ It’s tacky on a first date, Peter,” she states before turning back at Bucky, “and that motorcycle outside. No one is going to be on that thing without a helmet, including you. No joyriding with Peter either, you use it to get to point A to point B. Is all of this clear?”

Oh god, Bucky is going to beat him up simply because Aunt May is being so annoying right now.

“Crystal, ma’am. I’ll make sure to keep Peter safe. You don’t need to worry about me.” Bucky assures in an extremely polite tone and with an award-winning smile on his face. May seems charmed enough but still a little suspicious.

“Okay, good.” She nods before opening the door back up. “I don’t want to keep you boys.”

Peter follows Bucky out the door and into the crisp air. Peter really should have put on a jacket, but his mind was way too scrambled to. The two approach Bucky’s motorcycle, and Bucky promptly begins to rifle through the back compartment. He pulls out a helmet that looks to be a little bit large for Peter but will probably do the trick.

“So you didn’t tell your aunt about our date?” Bucky asks with his eyebrow quirked.

“I don’t know. I, uh,” Peter stammers, searching for the right words. “I guess I was nervous to tell her.” Bucky only offers a chuckle in response.

“I don’t mean to make you nervous, Peter.”

“No, not because of you. It’s actually… my first date,” Peter says, voice going small at the end of his sentence.

“Oh?” Bucky sounds surprised. “You’re telling me no one’s asked you on a date until—”

“You. Yeah.” Peter places the helmet on his head and then notices the look on Bucky’s face still hasn't changed. He flips up the visor of the helmet. “What?”

“Glad I was the one to ask first, that’s all,” Bucky says with a smile before putting his own helmet on and positioning himself on the motorcycle. He gestures for Peter to follow. “I’m gonna need to you to hold tight, okay? I don’t want to get in any trouble with your aunt.”

Peter very meekly begins to extend around Bucky. Bucky grabs his hands and pulls him in closer to make sure he's securely holding on. It feels very strange to be this close to Bucky, even if they are on a date. Now that Peter is closer, he can see that Bucky has definitely got some sort of product in his brown hair, meaning he definitely put some effort in. He also smells like a combination of old spice and leather. It’s extremely manly. Peter wonders if he even remembered to put on deodorant before he zipped out of his room.

“You tell me if I need to slow down, alright?” Bucky says, revving the engine of the motorcycle. Peter nods gingerly and shuts his eyes the moment they jet off onto the street.

Though Bucky drives the motorcycle with a great ease, Peter still holds on to Bucky for dear life. He wonders whether he’s holding on a little _too_ tight for a moment when Bucky pulls him closer again.

After weaving through Queens traffic for fifteen minutes until they make their way to where the Queens border meets Brooklyn. Bucky fluidly directs his motorcycle to the curb in front of a cafe called Captain Coffee Co.

"You ever been here before?”

It's a quaint little cafe with light wood trim and a beautiful granite counter with a display case of muffins and croissants. There are a couple other customers in the shop, mostly just a girl who looks to be studying on a laptop and a couple reading books together. A blonde guy, no older than Bucky and Peter, stands behind the counter with a blue apron on. He’s got a crew cut and broad shoulders, Peter thinks about how undeniably attractive he is. His face perks up when the two make their way into the shop.

“Hey Stevie,” Bucky says with grin.

“What’s up, Buck?” Steve answers. It's clear to Peter that these two boys are more than just familiar. Definitely friends. Maybe even best friends.

“Was hoping to show Peter here some of the best coffee on this side of the Hudson.”

“Oh, the famous Peter.” Steve snarks with a chuckle.

“Dude,” Bucky blurts immediately. Peter turns his head to look at Bucky’s reaction. The older boy looks almost sheepish. A very unfamiliar look on him. Steve just lets out another small laugh. It’s now clear to Peter that he and Steve must know each other well. Bucky didn’t seem like the kind of person to let just anyone snark at him like that.

“Sorry,” Steve says, holding out a hand across the counter. “It’s nice to meet you, Peter. I’m Steve.”

“Nice to meet you, too.”

“Can I get ya something, handsome?” Bucky says, any sign of embarrassment now long gone now.

“What’s a capsicle?” Peter asks, reading the item off of the menu.

“Blended iced coffee with a cinnamon whipped cream. One of our best sellers, it’s pretty good if you like sweet stuff. Bucky doesn’t like it,” Steve reveals, gesturing over to Bucky with another chuckle. He seems like he’s having fun teasing Bucky. It was kind of nice to see it for a change.

“I’ll have one of those, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Not at all.” Steve nods. “Buck?”

“You know me, small black coffee,” Bucky says. “Should we get one of those pastry things?” He asks, nudging Peter and pointing to the display case. They all actually look really good. Peter scans the options for a moment before pointing to a cream filled croissant.

“What’s this one?” Peter asks politely.

“Banana croissant with cream inside,” Steve answers.

Peter looks to Bucky as if to wait for agreement. Bucky smiles and gives an assuring nod.

“Let’s do it,” Bucky says with a clap. “Ring us up, Stevie.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve says with a grin, placing the croissant on a small white plate and laying it on the counter in front of him. “That’s seven dollars, seventy-four cents.”

“You sure you don’t want me to—” Peter says, reaching into the pocket of his khakis. Bucky grabs his arm before he can pull out his wallet.

“I got you.” Bucky assures, taking the hand off right after he does. He hands ten dollars over to Steve and gives him a wink afterwards. “Keep the change.” Steve replies with a roll of the eyes. Peter gets the impression that Bucky does something like this every time he’s here.

Steve whips up the capsicle and Bucky’s coffee with ease and then hands it to the other boys. “Enjoy,” he says with a smile, tossing Bucky a teasing wink along with it.

Bucky leads Peter over to the corner of the cafe a bit further from the bookwork couple where there’s a single table with two chairs. Bucky makes a relieved exhale when he sits down at the table. Peter sits down as well, but definitely a lot more nervous once he’s in front of the older boy. He’s not really sure what they're supposed to talk about.

Peter decided to avoid the silence by taking a sip of his capsicle drink. Which is actually _very_ good. He promptly takes another. Bucky looks amused at this and flashes him the same award-winning smile he did Aunt May earlier.

“So did you and Ned test out those IDs yet?” Bucky asks, leaning in a little bit closer to Peter.

“Oh! Not yet actually. We’re trying to go see this band next Friday. We’re hoping they actually show up.”

“What do you mean?” Bucky questions with his eyebrows joining in confusion.

“They’re called Fluffy and sometimes they’re kind of… elusive. They’ve kinda done switch-ups on people. One time a Meatloaf cover band went on instead of them.”

“Damn, they sound like bunch of dicks.” Bucky laughs. “In a good way. That’s hilarious.”

“Yeah, I’m hoping it doesn’t happen to us.” Peter chuckles nervously, pushing the bridge of his glasses up his nose. “I’ve really been looking forward to it.”

“So are they like a death metal band or something?”

Peter chuckles again. “No! They’re like… alternative rock… or something.” Peter shakes his head, feeling awkward at even trying to describe his favorite band to Bucky. He’s probably just going to make fun of him.

“Sounds cool,” Bucky simply says with a grin. “Maybe I should join.”

“You actually want to come? It really could be a Meatloaf cover band.”

“You’re gonna be there aren’t you?” Bucky says with a wink that makes a couple butterflies flutter around Peter’s stomach. What’s going on here?

“Y-yeah! I just didn’t think—” Peter babbles, he really thinks he may have forgotten how to speak in full sentences after that wink. “Sorry, I just—” 

“Pete, calm down,” Bucky assures in a low tone, reaching his hand over to Peter’s. “It’s fine. I don’t have to come. It’s cool.”

“No, I, uh, I think you should come,” Peter says. “If you really want.”

“Where’s the thing going down?”

After a couple of minutes, Peter has fully explained the rabbit holes he and Ned had to go down to figure out where Fluffy was performing next weekend. Bucky actually seems kind of impressed by the whole thing. This date isn’t at all going how Peter thought it would. Bucky is way easier to talk to than he anticipated. Way nicer, too.

Peter’s actually having so much fun talking to Bucky that he hasn’t even had time to touch the banana croissant on the table. During a lull in the conversation, he decides to take a bite. It tastes sweet and buttery, exactly what you expect from a banana croissant. Still, Peter wants a bite with the cream, so he uses the fork to break off another piece.

“So how do you know Steve?” Peter asks, plopping the croissant piece into his mouth. He’s definitely feeling lot more comfortable on this date as the time goes by.

“Oh man, we’ve been friends for a while. Since we were kids. We used to go to Pacific High together but… I kinda got kicked out.”

“You got kicked out?” Peter asks, shifting in his seat a bit. As he does, he begins to feel an itch in his throat. He tries to swallow harder to get it back down, but it doesn’t work; it only makes it harder to breathe. Holy crap. He’s allergic to something in that croissant!

Peter starts gasping for air and grabbing his neck with his hands. Bucky’s looks at him with confusion before he realizes what’s going on. Peter begins to wheeze loudly, clearly not getting enough air. He falls to the ground and Bucky’s burst out of his seat to be at his side almost instantly.

“Holy shit, Peter!” Bucky yells, cradling his head with his hand. “Steve, call 911!”

Steve gives Bucky a nod before dialing on his cell phone. Bucky turns his attention back to Peter and his eyes dart up and down Peter’s body, trying to figure out what to do. He grabs Peter’s arm, where there’s an allergy bracelet. He reads the inscription before looking back up at Peter’s face. 

“An ambulance is on the way,” Steve says, walking out from behind the counter. “What’s going on?”

“I think he’s having an allergic reaction,” Bucky explains before turning his attention back down to Peter. “Peter, do you have an EpiPen or something?” Peter nods and coughs in response before clapping the pocket of his khakis frantically with his hand. Bucky reaches inside and grabs Peter’s extremely bulky velcro wallet. Bucky opens it and a rectangular contraption that reads ‘epinephrine injection’ falls out. Bucky inspects the device before pulling the top compartment out, which exposes the tip of the needle.

“I’m sorry if this hurts, Peter.” Bucky examines Peter’s leg before sticking the needle in. It takes a moment, but eventually Peter’s wheeze begins to lessen, and it starts to feel like he can breathe again. Bucky looks very relieved. He lifts Peter’s head up with his hand.

“Are you okay?” Bucky asks.

“M’allergic to walnuts.” Peter croaks, before letting out a soft chuckle.  
  


“Yeah, no shit, Peter.” Bucky laughs, running a hand through Peter’s hair “You ok?”

Before Peter can answer, two EMTs walk into the cafe. They spot Bucky and Peter on the ground and begin to make their way over to them. One with long blonde hair and a relaxed gait, the other with a stern look on his face.

“What’s going on?” The blonde EMT asks, kneeling down beside the two.

“Walnut allergy gone wrong,” Bucky says. “He wasn’t doing so great, but I used an EpiPen on him, and it stopped the choking.”

“We need to take him to the ER now, signs of anaphylaxis can return a couple hours after an EpiPen dose.” The other, stern looking EMT asserts. “We can take him now in the ambulance.

“No, no ambulance, please. I can make it there,” Peter says hoarsely, holding his hand up in weak protest.

“You don’t seem in a good state to get there on your own.”

“This has happened before,” Peter groans a bit, trying to get up from the ground. “M’good to get there myself in a bit, seriously. My aunt is still paying for the last ambulance ride.”

“Listen kid, it’s not far and it’s very important that you—”

“He’s said he’s _good_ ,” Bucky insists, voice almost booming. He gives the EMT an intense stare-down, which proves extremely effective. He almost seems shocked that he’s being challenged right now. “I’ve got him. He’ll get to the ER.”

“He better if he wants to continue breathing,” Stern EMT says before giving a scoff and walking away.

“Make sure you take him straight there. You really shouldn't wait long,” the other EMT instructs before looking straight at Bucky, making sure that he understands how serious it is. All Peter can do is nod weakly. She smiles before following the other EMT out the door.

“Let’s call you an Uber, yeah? No way we’re getting on my motorcycle, and I have to believe it’s cheaper than an ambulance,” Bucky says, trying to bring Peter up to a sitting position.

“Yeah. Uber’s good. You gotta let me pay for it, though.”

“No way. You’re incapacitated.” Both Steve and Bucky help bring Peter to his feet. Peter can’t believe this is happening on his very first date. If he wasn’t so focused on breathing properly, he would probably be hiding in the shame after causing such a scene.

“You should call your aunt, yeah? She can meet us at the ER.”

“Yeah. Good idea,” Peter says, he’s a little surprised Bucky thought to call her before him.

In the time it takes for Peter to notify Aunt May, the Uber arrives outside the cafe. The two say their goodbyes to Steve before making their way to the white Honda SUV. Bucky helps Peter into the back before climbing in after him. Once Peter gets off the phone with a frantic Aunt May, they’ve made their way into the ER.

Bucky helps him out with signing in and the receptionist tells them to wait until Peter’s name is called. They situate themselves in a corner of the waiting room. Bucky sits down first, coaxing the younger boy to follow suit. The moment Peter does, Bucky wraps one of his arms around him, pulling him in a little closer. Peter freezes for a moment—he can smell Bucky, and it makes him nervous all over again.

“Just relax, Peter,” Bucky murmurs, almost as if he can sense Peter getting nervous again. Peter does his best to follow his instruction and just calm down. The heat from Bucky’s body is definitely helping. It feels so normal being held this close to him. The beginning of calmness is broken by the entrance of Aunt May.

“Peter, oh my goodness. What happened? Are you okay?” She asks, cupping his face in her hands and staring into his eyes.

“M’okay. There was walnuts in a croissant. I’m honestly lucky Bucky was there to help,” Peter states, looking over to Bucky with a shy smile. “He also paid for the Uber here, so… we should probably pay him back.” Aunt May almost immediately begins to dig through her purse.

“How much was it?” She asks frantically. Bucky chuckles but raises a hand up in defense.

“It’s really not a big deal. Was just happy I was able to help him,” Bucky assures. Aunt May just gives a grateful nod and sits next to the two boys. Bucky doesn't move his arm at all; he seems completely comfortable around Aunt May. Peter, however, feels weird about the whole scenario considering May didn’t even know he was going on a date with Bucky until today.

The three sit in a comfortable silence for about forty minutes until a redheaded nurse pokes her head outside of the door to the waiting room.

“Peter Parker?” She calls out to the room, and the group of three move to their feet and in direction of the door.

“Are you two family members?” The nurse asks, pointing at them inquisitively.

“No, he’s not but—” Aunt May begins before being cut off by the nurse.

“Only family members allowed through. We don’t want to overcrowd,” she says in an authoritative but polite manner.

“I’m good. I’ll just wait out here,” Bucky says nonchalantly. Peter can’t believe how chill he’s being about everything. The Bucky he thought he knew probably would have probably been gone by now. He’s thankful that Bucky seems different than he originally thought.

Peter and May situate themselves into a tiny square of space with a hospital bed and a chair. A different nurse comes in to ask a couple questions and then makes Peter change into a silly hospital gown. After Peter does so, she leaves the room and tells them to wait. They wait for another fifteen minutes with no sign of any development, which leaves Aunt May and Peter sitting in a lingering silence.

“I would ask how the date is going but…” Aunt May gestures to the hospital around them and Peter chuckles lightly.

“Yeah, not really how I thought this was going to go.”

“Bucky doesn't seem to mind. I have to admit, I may have had the wrong impression of him. He seems like a nice boy,” Aunt May says, seemingly studying Peter for his reaction. He just shifts around on the hospital cot nervously.

“He’s cool. I think, I guess,” Peter says, trying his best to brush it off but clearly not doing it well.

“You don’t seem so sure.” Aunt May tilts her head slightly in confusion.

“He kind of has a reputation at school. I don’t know.” Peter is slightly embarrassed to be taking to his aunt about Bucky. He’s never talked to her about any sort of romantic interest before. At least not ones that happened past grade school.

“He seems to care about you, from what I can see,” Aunt May notes with a smile. “Lots of people get reputations they don’t deserve, too. Trust me. Kiss Harry Hogan once at a dance and all of a sudden you’re the tramp of the decade.” Aunt May rolls her eyes at the very specific memory she’s uncovering.

“That happened?” Peter asks. Aunt May laughs in response.

“Yeah. Marcia DeVille was a real b-word if you know what I mean.” Aunt May laughs to herself again. “All I’m saying Peter, don’t believe everything you hear. Not many people like to wait around in hospitals for fun,” she assures in a soft tone. Peter nods in response.

The same nurse as before comes back in to give Peter an IV drip and give him another drug with a very long and ridiculous name. As Peter waits for the drip to do its thing, he thinks about what May said. And then promptly freaks out about the IV drip taking so long that Bucky just gives up and leaves.

Forty minutes pass by, and the nurse returns to check on Peter and the drip. She signs off on his condition and gives Aunt May instructions on a prescription that Peter will have to take for the next two weeks. Peter is absolutely itching to get out of his seat that he changes out of the hospital gown in a flash.

When Aunt May and Peter return to the waiting room, they see Bucky, still sitting exactly where he left them. He stands up the moment he spots them, his height making him tower over the two Parkers. He actually looks relieved to see them.

“How’s everything?” Bucky asks.

“He should be good now, I just have to get him this prescription right here,” Aunt May says, holding up the small piece of paper.

“Thank god,” Bucky replies, still looking quite relieved. The three stand together awkwardly, Peter’s not even sure what he’s supposed to say now. Is this the end of the date? He looks over to Aunt May with a nervous look. She claps her hands together.

“We should get going. Bucky, I can drive you to your bike,” she announces.

“Thank you, ma’am. That would be great.” Bucky nods politely.

"I’ll give you guys a moment first,” Aunt May says before taking steps away from the two boys. Peter’s shoes are all of a sudden extremely interesting now that he’s back in front of Bucky. All tall and gorgeous with his leather jacket on. It’s intimidating all over again.

“I’m really sorry I was a bad date,” Peter says quietly. Shifting his weight between his feet nervously.

“What? I’ve been out here trying to figure out how to apologize to _you_.” Bucky laughs and runs a hand through his hair. “I feel so fucking bad.”

“Oh! I just thought — It’s kind of my fault that I, you know, almost died,” Peter says, looking up at Bucky, who’s just looking at him with some sort of endearment.

“I’m sure happy you didn’t, Peter,” Bucky says with a smile, stepping closer to Peter. He places his hand on the younger boy’s shoulder. “Plus, you didn’t die. That would have been a terrible date. Then I wouldn’t be able to do this.”

Before Peter can ask what the hell Bucky’s talking about, Bucky’s lips are on his. He tastes like the black coffee hidden by a peppermint Altoid. Strange but Peter really doesn't care. All alarms are going off in his head because _Bucky Barnes_ is kissing him. 

Peter closes his eyes and does his best to give Bucky a good first kiss, but before he can even overthink it, Bucky’s lips are gone, leaving him yearning for more. 

“Was that okay?” Bucky asks, looking Peter’s face over. Peter smiles and gives him a nod.

“As long as you didn't have any of that croissant earlier.”

“Not a bite,” Bucky says, leaning in to give Peter another incredible kiss.

Maybe Bucky wasn’t so bad after all. Especially if he kisses like this.


End file.
